Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews formally apologised on May 24 in state parliament for a past law that treated people as criminals for being gay.
"It is never too late to put things right," Andrews said. "It is never too late to say sorry and mean it.
"There was a time in our history when we turned thousands of young men into criminals ... this was profoundly wrong.
"It is the first responsibility of a government to keep people safe. But the Government didn't keep LGBTI people safe. The Government invalidated their humanity and cast them into a nightmare.”
Until the law criminalising homosexuality was repealed in1981, thousands of men were charged with homosexual offences and faced penalties of up to 15 years' jail.
Anna Brown from the Human Rights Law Centre said the apology was a step forward as it recognised the harm the law caused.
"They can now apply to have these convictions removed, and really the apology is the last symbolic act of acceptance and acknowledgement," she said.
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